Northern Catalpa is a medium to large sized deciduous tree with showy white flowers that have bright yellow stamen and purple patterns on the inside of the flower. They flower in late spring to early summer. The foliage is noted to be very large and it produces long, showy, green seed pods that have a bean-like capsule. The leaves are very broad with a length of up to a foot with an ovate shape. These leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall which eventually will turn black. This tree has a rounded crown with spreading branches, coarse leaves, and brittle wood.
 
These trees are native to the North American south around Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri as well as southern Indiana and Illinois. They prefer full sun or part shade and are tolerant of most soil conditions though it prefers a moist loam with plenty of organic material.  They do well in difficult to grow locations of the landscape, such as moist low spots or dry spots with poor soils.